Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Amazing. Just as the debate begins in earnest over Iraq policy in the Senate, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wants everyone to know that Iraq is finally on track for success. “What I’m hearing right now is a sea change that’s taken place in many places here, that it’s no longer a matter of pushing al-Qaida out of Ramadi, for example but rather, now that they have been pushed out, helping the local police and local army have a chance to get their feet on the ground,” he said. I think there’s reason for skepticism.
* There’s been quite a bit of movement in the Senate on a bill to restore Habeas rights eliminated by the Military Commissions Act last fall. Christy Hardin Smith has a target list and phone numbers for lawmakers who are reportedly on the fence and could make the difference.
* TPMM: “War: it’s not a time for strict accounting. USA Today conducted a Freedom of Information Act review of Pentagon contracting in the Iraq war. The paper found that, through October, more than two-thirds of contracts flagged by auditors as “inflated, erroneous or otherwise improper” eventually found their way to approval, representing over $1 billion. In total, auditors have raised red flags about 10 percent of contracts for about $38.5 billion in bidded-out Iraq funds.”
* Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) emerged from hiding yesterday, holding a brief DC press conference with his wife in which he said he wanted to get on with his Senate duties. “I’m not going to answer endless questions about it all over again and again and again and again,” he said. As a result, he answered literally no questions — it wasn’t much of a press conference, per se — and fled again. Today, he avoided reporters, but received a warm welcome from his GOP colleagues.
* Speaking of the Vitter sex scandal, I found this hard to believe, but the CBS Evening News has not mentioned the controversy once, not even in passing. The show has plenty of time for Paris Hilton, but if a Republican lawmaker is exposed as a hypocrite who illegally paid for adulterous sex, Katie Couric isn’t interested?
* Fox turned down a new advertising campaign by Trojan, the condom maker, because “it objected to the message that condoms can prevent pregnancy.” Sometimes, I find it hard to believe it’s the 21st century.
* Leonard Pitts Jr.: “[Bush’s predecessors were] flawed men yes, but say this much for them: When it came to a choice between people and party, between the public and the politics, there was at least a bare chance they would put the people, the public, first. No such chance exists with the current occupant of the mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue. Given a choice between what’s best for the country and what suits his political and ideological needs, George W. Bush will invariably, unfailingly, pick the latter.”
* John Fund and some far-right blogs are outraged that congressional Dems are cutting $11 million from the Office of Labor Management Standards, which investigates labor unions, which they believe suggests Dems support union corruption. Bradford Plumer explains why Fund and his fans are confused.
* The House Judiciary Committee wants to chat with John Tanner, the chief of the DoJ’s Civil Rights Division’s voting rights section. Gonzales reportedly won’t let him.
* On a related note, “Members of the House Judiciary Committee want the Justice Department to hand over documents, among them correspondence with the White House, related to three controversial prosecutions, including that of former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL).”
* The Senate is making progress on legislation that would empower the FDA to regulate tobacco products for the first time.
* Appearing with far-right talk-show host Hugh Hewitt yesterday, Bob Novak said women are responsible for making our current political discourse more “vicious.” Melissa McEwan has a few thoughts as to why Novak might believe this.
* A popular right-wing talking point is that World War II would have been much more politically contentious if there were polls, and politicians saw the public recoil from U.S. casualties. Josh Marshall has an excellent item today explaining that there were polls during WWII, but the public didn’t recoil. “The reason the [Iraq] war is unpopular is because people don’t think we are accomplishing anything that promotes our security or national interests — indeed, quite the contrary. Not because we’re not doing it right or not doing it well but because the whole concept is flawed.”
* And finally, for those of you who are really excited about tonight’s Iraq debate in the Senate, you’ll be pleased to know that there will be live-blogging for your reading pleasure. No, not here — I’ll be sleeping, though I’ll report in the morning — but our friends at ThinkProgress have ordered coffee and are giving it a go. (Good luck, guys. My hat’s off to you.)
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.